Fred Shand murder trial: Fatal stabbing said to be ‘fight gone horribly, tragically wrong’ by 15-year-old’s defence

During the closing statements of the trial of the Northampton teens charged with the murder of Fred Shand, the 15-year-old’s defence barrister described the fatal stabbing as a “fight gone horribly, terribly wrong”.

Since July 12, the jury has heard the prosecution’s case and evidence, as well as the 15-year-old defendant and the father of the 17-year-old defendant take to the stand. This came after the court heard the older defendant would not be giving evidence.

Alternative counts of manslaughter have now been added for the jury to consider for both defendants. The 15-year-old denies murder but admits manslaughter, and the 17-year-old denies both charges.

Mr Paul Hynes KC, defending the 15-year-old, says their closing statement was to in “no way minimise the tragedy of this case” as Fred’s life has been “needlessly” lost.

“We are not an apology for that young man over there,” Mr Hynes KC added, pointing to the 15-year-old in the dock. “We do not justify what he did.”

The court heard the defence barrister say that while this incident was a “tragedy” and his defendant is guilty of manslaughter, “he is not guilty of murder”.

Mr Hynes KC described the incident as a “fight gone horribly, tragically wrong” in a way “no one could have anticipated”, the court heard.

The defence barrister was “struck” by a number of comments made by Miss Jane Bickerstaff KC, who presented the prosecution’s closing statement that morning (July 31).

Mr Hynes KC addressed the claim that the younger defendant allegedly made a first attempt to stab Fred before the fatal wound was inflicted. This allegedly hit Fred’s backpack, in line with evidence given by the teen friend who was with the 16-year-old on the day of his death.

The defence barrister questioned that if that was the case, why has the backpack not been brought into court to assist the “case theory”.

The court also heard Mr Hynes KC describe the way the four involved in the incident came together, saying they were not “one group attacking the other” and there was no “flying” from the co-defendants after they got off the scooter.

Addressing the jury about eyewitness evidence, Mr Hynes KC said: “When they say things that suit the prosecution, bring it on.”

However, he added that when witnesses say things that support the defendants’ cases, “somehow they are less reliable”.

Mr Hynes KC referred to the society young people live in – namely how “boys in their teenage years tend to be keen on fighting”, how situations play out on social media, and how people can be “in your ear on your phone all the time”.

“Think about the effect that has on anyone,” said Mr Hynes KC, referring to the 15-year-old defendant who was 14 at the time of the fatal stabbing.

Though the court heard there is “no dispute about manslaughter”, the defence barrister asked a rhetorical question about if his defendant intended for Fred to die – and if he had a “sense of consequence”.

Mr Hynes KC said that the 15-year-old is likely to have wanted to humiliate in the way he had been humiliated, the court heard, and to use the knife to “scare [Fred] off”.

The defence barrister told the jury that children “rarely think about what happens in the real world” and they are a “product of the society that raises them”.

Addressing the jury, he added: “Our 14-year-old selves are not the 14-year-olds we see in school, at bus stops and on trial for murder.”

“What [the 15-year-old defendant] did was a terrible thing,” said Mr Hynes KC. “We don’t apologise for that. We don’t seek sympathy. We’re not here to insult your intelligence.”

Through accepting guilt for manslaughter, the court heard the 15-year-old will receive the “right and just” punishment – but does not accept that he intended to cause really serious injury.

Mr Hynes KC stands by the fact that the two groups were running at each other to engage in a fight, but told the court that once that knife had been removed from its sheath and brandished by the 15-year-old defendant, “the fight was on” and there was “no backing out”.

The defence barrister closed his statement by acknowledging how many lives have been affected by the “tragedy” that resulted thereafter.

What else has happened in the trial so far?

The two teenage boys from Northampton, who were aged 14 and 16 at the time but are now 15 and 17, pleaded not guilty to their murder charge before Northampton Crown Court on April 24. They cannot be named for legal reasons.

Miss Jane Bickerstaff KC, the prosecuting barrister, kickstarted the trial on Wednesday, July 12 with the prosecution opening after the jury was sworn in on Monday, July 10.

The court heard the younger defendant, aged 15, faces an additional charge of carrying an article with a blade or a sharp point in a public place – which he pleaded guilty to from the outset.

The court heard 16-year-old Rohan Shand, known as Fred, died after being stabbed near the Cock Hotel in Harborough Road at about 3.35pm on March 22 while on his way home from Kingsthorpe College.

Miss Bickerstaff KC, of the prosecution, told the court it was the 15-year-old male defendant that carried out the stabbing and he was accompanied by the 17-year-old in the planned “joint enterprise attack” – shown by CCTV footage in court.

The stabbing followed an altercation outside McDonalds in the Drapery, which the court heard took place the day before (March 21).

A male had his “face sliced with a belt buckle” during that “dispute” and the two defendants were a friend of his. The co-defendants believed Fred Shand was at the forefront of the group responsible.

The court heard that after the co-defendants arrived at Kingsthorpe College later than planned on March 22, they rode on scooter towards the town centre via Harborough Road.

The entire incident was over in seven seconds after Fred, his teen friend and the two co-defendants came together for the first time at 3.34pm on March 22 on the green in Harborough Road, the court heard.

The co-defendants fled the scene on foot to the home of the 17-year-old, where they were detained by police shortly after – along with the murder weapon, a second knife and clothing worn during the incident.

During the second day of the trial (Thursday, July 13) – the first in which witnesses were called on to give evidence by the prosecution – the court saw 360 degree imagery to give them an understanding of the area, as well as video footage that has been recovered from March 22.

On the morning of the third day of the trial (Friday, July 14), the pathologist that conducted Fred’s post-mortem examination gave her expert evidence on the cause of death.

This was followed by evidence given by the teen friend who was with Fred on the day of the fatal stabbing.

Kickstarting the second week (Tuesday, July 18), the two eyewitnesses who followed the co-defendants home after the incident were called to give evidence.

The final live witness took to the stand to conclude the morning sitting, when the court heard he saw the blade pulled from the younger defendant’s trousers.

Five written witness statements were read aloud to conclude the sitting on Tuesday, July 18. One of which detailed a nine second phone call the 15-year-old defendant had with a friend ahead of the incident.

The final eight written statements were heard the following day (Wednesday, July 19), including five from members of the police force.

Ahead of the prosecution closing its case, the jury were taken step-by-step through key moments which led to the Kingsthorpe College pupil’s death.

Having been told the agreed facts of the case, the jury heard the 17-year-old defendant had pleaded guilty to being in possession of a bladed article in Harborough Road on the day of the fatal stabbing.

The 15-year-old defendant stood to give evidence in court for the first time on the afternoon of Friday, July 21, when the jury heard him say young people buy knives “for show” and to “look cool”.

The younger defendant also proceeded to tell the court he felt “upset” seeing a picture of Fred Shand for the first time because of “how it happened and how it went down”.

Continuing his evidence on July 24, the 15-year-old said he wore a balaclava and carried a knife on the day of the fatal stabbing to “look as scary as possible” but claimed he had no intention of using the knife as a weapon.

That same afternoon, the younger defendant described the moments leading up to the fatal stabbing and said he “did not realise” he stabbed Fred until the 16-year-old collapsed and he saw the blood on his knife.

The 15-year-old admitted going against an “agreement” with his older co-defendant not to use a knife in the confrontation with Fred and his friend when he was cross-examined in court on July 25.

Miss Bickerstaff KC, prosecuting, accused the 15-year-old of “telling lots of lies” to the jury. During the conclusion of his evidence, the court heard the younger defendant obtained the knife that killed Fred by asking “strangers” in the street to buy the blade for him.

Benjamin Aina KC, defending the 17-year-old, told Northampton Crown Court on July 27 that his client will not be giving any evidence in the murder trial.

The 17-year-old’s father, however, did take the stand as a witness and told the jury that he threw away a machete he used for “cutting wood” after discovering a photo of his son posing with it on his phone.

The Honourable Mr Justice Morris began giving legal directions to jurors on Friday, July 28. This set out the important factors they need to take into account when deciding if each defendant is guilty of murder or manslaughter.

Having started the closing statements on the morning of Monday, July 31, the jury heard the prosecution refer to the fatal stabbing as a “planned, anticipated and violent attack on Fred”.

The trial continues.